Derbyshire council leader expresses disappointment at Government budget’s limited support for councils

Conservative-controlled Derbyshire County Council which forecasted a £46.4m budget deficit for the 2023/24 financial year has this month announced this forecasted overspend has been reduced to a £33m figure following a number of drastic actions taken by the council.

Despite taking hard-hitting measures, alongside lobbying the Conservative Government for funding, the council was disappointed after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in the Autumn Budget on Wednesday, November 22, that he was planning a potential £19billion reduction in Government spending on public services with the Chancellor depending on councils becoming more financially efficient by “tackling waste”.

Derbyshire County Council Leader, Cllr Barry Lewis, told the council cabinet meeting on Thursday, November 23, that it was a shame that the Government had not acknowledged the county council’s position and efforts.

He said: “We seem to have gained very little of that at all in the Autumn Budget Statement. We hope the Government settlement later on in December recognises the challenges we face.

“These are inflationary pressures that people are presenting at our front door particularly in children’s services.”

The council has argued that many councils across the country are experiencing similar external, financial issues due to exceptionally high inflation rates, Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, and it has stopped all non-essential spending and implemented a hiring freeze, except for essential jobs, and it is facing more tough decisions to come.

Cost-control measures which have been introduced so far include: Reducing the use of agency staff; Reducing overtime; Stopping non-essential conferences, travel or training; Reducing print, IT equipment and stationery spending; Only carrying out health and safety repairs on properties; Ceasing or delaying procurement for supplies and services and postponing projects still in the planning stage, where expenditure is non-essential.

The council’s forecast overspend has also been reduced by departmental savings, the use of reserves and the receipt of additional grant funding and its new finance report says the council is looking at reshaping its community library project and pausing the proposed £166m Chesterfield-Staveley Regeneration Route project.

But Wednesday’s Autumn statement offered very little help for the county council and all local authorities after the Chancellor said Government spending on public services will be reduced by £19bn after accounting for inflation with a greater expected effort on ‘tackling waste’ hinting at greater efficiency which will affect all councils, the NHS and education.

The Government also plans to cut employee national insurance contributions by 2 percentage points with £20bn of overall tax cuts, while increasing the minimum wage and increasing benefits and pensions but introducing more benefit sanctions for those failing to pursue work with the hope that this will all lead to a helpful drop in inflation.

Cllr Lewis said the announced increase in the national minimum living wage will also place an additional £4.4m pressure on the council next year when more considerable savings will be necessary.

Deputy County Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and Budget, Cllr Simon Spencer, also said it was disappointing there was so little good news for the council and others.

He added: “We are not on our own because many other authorities are in a similar place.”

The council’s biggest financial concern is for rising children’s services and adult education costs which it states is outside of the control of the authority.

Cllr Spencer said: “The area I am most concerned about is children services and adult education costs, and this is outside the control of the authority, which is still continuing to rise.”

He added that this is a financial pressure that can only be addressed by legislative powers in the Government but the council will continue to work with the facts and figures as best it can.

Cllr Lewis also pointed out that one placement in children services can cost as much as £10,000 a week and these are unsustainable costs that need to be addressed by the Government who will continue to be pressured by the council on this matter.

The County Council Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Safeguarding, Cllr Julie Patten, said: “I want to give reassurance to the council that we are doing all we can to address the deficit.”

However, she added that more children are needing support and the demands are increasing and she said one of the placements was costing £12,000 a week which was something members of the public cannot even comprehend.

Cllr Patten criticised private providers to the council who she says are ‘making huge profits out of young people’s misery’ but she insisted the council will not turn its back on young children and their families.

The County Councl Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Alex Dale, joined Cllr Patten in calling for a cap on these huge fees from private providers and he also called for more funding from the Government.

Cllr Dale said private providers were being allowed to make millions of pounds in profits and this money was not being properly reinvested back into supporting children’s services to bring costs down.

Despite the Autumn Budget, the council’s latest financial position for this financial year set out in its Quarter Two budget monitoring report says that the forecast overspend for 2023/24 has been reduced from £46.4m to £33m following toughj actions taken by the council.

Cllr Spencer told the cabinet meeting: “I have to say that I am pleased to say that this is somewhat of a positive message and the direction of travel is now in the right direction.”

He added: “Of course, we have put in a huge amount of effort to put measures into place to hopefully address the overall forecast overspend.

“These actions have not had the opportunity to filter through as yet but hopefully when they filter through we will hopefully see the changes travelling in the right direction.”

Cllr Spencer also said: “During the following quarter, that is going to be the critical time when we see if the measures put in place will have the effect we hope they will.”